Life is about maintenance and routine. Whether it’s changing the oil on your car or hitting the gym for some exercise, things need to be taken care of to look good and work well. Your beard is no different. Though you can survive without daily beard care, you don’t need much to get started. Once you have the right tools, daily maintenance and selective grooming becomes as easy as brushing your teeth.
Luckily, learning how to groom your beard isn’t rocket science. At the end of the day, it’s hair, just on your face. If you want to get started on learning how to groom your beard, just follow the steps below. You’ll quickly realize what you’ve been missing from your daily beard care routine.
1. Brush and comb your beard
We’re taking a page from traditional hair care here, but it should come as no surprise beards can and should be brushed and combed. Though any old brush or comb will do, you’ll probably want a dedicated beard brush because they’re made to be used with beards and you wouldn’t want bacteria from another brush to hibernate in your facial hair follicles.
I personally use and recommend Grow Alpha Beard’s Beard Brush & Comb Set for Men. The simple boar bristle brush and bamboo comb will help untangle your hairs, stimulate your skin and remove dirt and dead skin. This package also comes with trimming scissors, if you need a quick touch-up. The brush helps untangle your hair and remove dead skin cells, while the comb helps you keep your beard neat and trim.
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2. Trim and manscape your beard
This is arguably the most indispensable step in beard care, even if you don’t have to do it daily. Nothing says “I’m put together” like clean beard lines and appropriate beard hair length. Depending on your facial hairstyle, you might just need a decent pair of scissors, or you could go for a full beard trimmer. Both are useful to bring your more scraggly hairs to heel, but while scissors are good for precision and single hairs, a trimmer is good for an even-haired cut all around.
I recommend Utopia Care’s curved scissor and rounded scissor, which ship together. They’re great for beginners to beard grooming and will get you started on those pesky out-of-place hairs.
For trimming, I recommend the Philips Norelco Multigroom Trimmer. The changeable clips work for facial and body hair, and built-in length settings make adjusting the clips a cinch. You can find more expensive premium beard trimmers, but I have an older model of this trimmer from 2017 that still works great.
3. Freshen up your beard with a beard wash
We need to do more to our beards than merely comb and trim them. Like head hair, your beard hair follicles accumulate dirt and oil that can’t just be brushed or washed away. Your beard also needs moisture to stay healthy. That’s where specialized beard washes come in. Beard Wash by Mountaineer Brand contains water and essential oils to soften, cleanse and moisturize your beard without stripping away all the natural oils that keep your skin hydrated. Mountaineer Brand also offers a number of different scents so you can choose the best-smelling beard wash for you. Using a beard wash once or twice a week in the shower will go a long way to keeping your beard up to snuff.
4. Moisturize your beard with a leave-in beard oil conditioner
Even if you’ve done all of the above, you could still experience dry, itchy skin at the end of the day. The best way to guarantee a soft, conditioned beard all day is to use a beard oil. Beard oils combine essential oils like argan and jojoba to hydrate skin and soften coarse beard hair. I recommend Honest Amish’s Classic Beard Oil. It’s unscented and offers great value, and its combination of essential oils will take care of most beards. If you don’t like it, send it back for a full refund.
Read more: The Best Beard Oils
5. Apply a beard balm or cream
If the idea of rubbing liquid oil on your face to condition your beard sounds unpleasant, you’re in luck. Beard balms and creams offer the same benefits as oils, just in a different package. Balms tend to be firmer and require a little hand mushing to soften and spread. Creams tend to be the softest and easiest to massage in, but they can feel a little thick going on compared to oils or even balms. Applying fresh out of the shower helps with both, but whatever your preference, we’ve got options.
For beard balms, you can’t go wrong with Honest Amish’s Beard Balm Leave-In Conditioner. The company brings the same quality of ingredients and competitive price point to its balm as it does for its beard oil. This balm will wrangle those rogue hairs in no time.
If you like this balm but need something with more strength, you can also go for Honest Amish’s Heavy Duty Beard Balm. It uses similar ingredients but offers a bit more softening and control.
If creams sound more appealing to you, Cremo Beard & Scruff Cream (check out the SPY review here) will be your dry beard’s worst nightmare. Cremo’s plant extracts and essential oils will cure your beard itch, without leaving a greasy residue. And if you’ve got any leftover cream, go right ahead and rub it into your hands for an added bonus.
6. Wax your beard to style and protect it
Most people don’t need wax, but if you really want your beard to stand out, a good beard wax can take your beard game to the next level. Waxes work like super strong balms and often incorporate natural oils, clay, beeswax and butters. Those ingredients offer huge upgrades in shine, control and frizz prevention. Henrichim’s Beard Balm uses tea tree oil, argan and beeswax to condition your beard and offer extra shine and hold wherever you need it. At under $3.50 per oz of beard wax, this tin of unscented wax will help tame your mustache and beard, and it will last you forever.
A Few More Thoughts on Daily Beard Care
Daily beard care and maintenance will lead to the best results, but you don’t need everything on this list every day. But doing some of these things even a few times a week can transform your beard. Not only will your beard look healthier, but it will also feel healthier.
In a world of bad beards, knowing how to groom your beard properly gives you the confidence you and your beard deserve.